The producer of “Gosnell: The Trial of America’s Biggest Serial Killer” says the film is being ignored by movie critics because of its anti-abortion message, writer and producer Phelim McAleer says.
Dr. Kermit Gosnell, who ran the Women’s Medical Society clinic in Philadelphia, is serving life in prison for the murder of three infants who were born alive during late-term abortion procedures. McAleer said he believes, based on a grand-jury report and the evidence presented at trial, that Gosnell likely killed hundreds more.
The movie, starring Dean Cain[1] — and partly financed by also 30,000 crowdfunders who donated a total of $2.3 million — opened last weekend with just two reviews in major outlets, both negative.
Forbes said, “If you’re not an avid right-wing media consumer, however, there’s very little here to make this average effort extra-special.”
The LA Times said, “The film never loses sight of the choir to which it is plainly preaching.”
By comparison, “Beautiful Boy,” an independent movie about meth addiction, has garnered 81 reviews.
“I’m not a conspiracy theorist, but what the hell is going on here?” McAleer asked me. “The reason they are not reviewing this movie is it shines a negative light on abortion. It asks awkward questions.”
The movie has a 99 percent Audience Score rating on Rotten Tomatoes and is “a huge success,” McAleer said, although it grossed just $1.16 million its opening weekend on 673 screens. “We had a good Monday and Tuesday. Word of mouth is spreading.”
McAleer previously made headlines with his play “Ferguson,” about the police shooting of Michael Brown. Although the play was based entirely on verbatim transcripts of eyewitness grand-jury testimony, actors objected to the script, and nine of the 13 cast